Some embodiments described herein relate to apparatus and methods for a base for a surgical table having four or more support members to support the base stably on a surface. Further embodiments described herein relate to surgical tables with robotic surgical arms, and apparatus and methods for reducing unwanted vibration at the working ends of the robotic arms. Yet further embodiments described herein relate to adapters for surgical tables with robotic surgical arms, and apparatus and methods for reducing unwanted vibration at the working ends of the robotic arms.
Stability of surgical tables during surgery is important to their safe and effective clinical use. Certain design characteristics improve the stability of surgical tables, such as a rigid support structure. In addition, it is also desirable for surgical tables to allow adjustment of patient position in one or more axes of motion, and to allow for wheeled transport around the hospital. The most common design of surgical tables is to have a large base sufficiently sized to prevent tipping, containing wheels, and having a means of locking to the floor to enhance stability.
One conflicting requirement with stability is dealing with floor irregularities. The problem is that to achieve stability, both in rigidity, as well as tipping, the base must be as large as possible. However, the base is also limited to a size that enables clinical access, which means that it must have a footprint no larger than the footprint of the table top. Thus, bases typically have a generally rectangular shape, and have four points of contact with the floor instead of the three needed for kinematic constraint.
Some surgical tables are mobile, can be wheeled around, and are frequently swapped in and out of an operating room based on the type of surgical procedure being performed. Such movement of the surgical tables within the operating room requires dealing with irregularities in the floor surface (e.g., variations in elevation of the floor surface). Given irregularities, such as drains, craftsmanship defects, bubbling, delamination of flooring, even dirt and grime, a rigid base with four points of contact may result in only three points in contact, and one in the air. This creates a situation where the table can rock back and forth, as is commonly observed in restaurant tables. Instability during surgery could cause irritation to surgeons and assistants at the very least or even a dangerous surgical situation. Thus, a solution is needed where the table is not only structurally rigid, but also mobile, and able to tolerate irregularities in the floor.
Further, robotic surgical systems can include robotic surgical arms that are coupled, directly or indirectly (e.g., via an adapter), to a surgical table on which a patient can be supported during a surgical procedure. The robotic surgical arms may support at their distal, working ends various devices, including surgical instruments, cannulae for providing access to the patient's body cavity(ies) and organ(s) for application of surgical instruments, imaging devices, lights, etc. In such systems, it is desirable to establish and maintain high positional accuracy for the devices mounted on the distal ends of the robotic arms.
Positional accuracy can be reduced or degraded by vibration of the distal ends of the robotic arms. Such vibration may be in the form of vibrational cross-talk, which is unwanted vibration occurring in one part of the system that originates in another part of the system. For example, vibration may be induced within a robotic arm, such as by operation of a motor driving movement of some portion of the arm relative to another portion of the arm and/or to the surgical table or other supporting structure, and the energy introduced into the arm by operation of the motor may propagate through the arm to the distal end, inducing vibration in the distal end. This arm may be referred to as the “active” arm. Alternatively, or additionally, energy introduced into the active arm, such as by operation of a motor within the active arm, may propagate through the active arm, through the table or other supporting structure, and through another robotic arm (which may be referred to as the “passive” arm) to the passive arm's distal end.
It is desirable to reduce vibrational cross-talk to enhance positional accuracy of the distal ends of robotic arms and the devices attached thereto.